Page 4 of Me For You
“You need to get your shit together,” I muttered and dropped my head back, closing my eyes until my phone vibrated. I shoved my hand into the pocket of my sweats and removed the device, glancing at the screen.
The name that flashed across diminished my uneasy thoughts and brought a smile to my face.
“You miss me, old lady?” was how I greeted my mother.
“Land, are you home?” I tensed and sat up straight because her tone insinuated something was up.
“What’s wrong?” flew out of my mouth so quickly I hadn’t processed that I’d spoken until she responded.
“Nothing’s wrong, baby. When will you have a break? Your father…”
“Ma, what’s wrong?”
“Ryland, relax. Everything’s okay. We’re okay. Your father and I…”
“Then why are you asking me when I’ll have a break? It’s playoffs. You know the schedule, Ma. You’re well aware of what my next couple weeks will look like unless we lose, so if nothing’s wrong…”
“I don’t want you stressed or worrying. I promise your father and I are fine but there is a situation we need to speak to you about in person. It’s important and the sooner the better.”
I lifted from the sofa and started pacing before I got my next words out. “Are you sick? Shit, is Pops sick? Fuck, I can’t deal with that…”
“Neither of us are sick, sweetheart. Please calm down.”
“You want me to calm down then just tell me.”
“Miranda, just tell him, baby,” I heard my father say in the background.
My mother sighed, then said the last thing I ever expected to hear.
“It’s your sister…”
I frowned hard as hell. “I don’t have a sister.”
“Yes you do, Ryland. You have a sister and she needs you.”
Chapter 2
Somee Cole
“You do realize she’s not your child, right?”
My mother’s hands sliced through the air and her eyes were wild while her face was tight, expressing her irritation with me and this situation. Before I delivered my response, I glanced toward the living room where the point of our contention quietly colored on my tablet. Prior to engaging in this argument with my mother, I’d pulled up several designs to keep Rylee busy for a while because I had no clue how long this would take.
What I was sure of was that this wouldn’t be a quick solution to an ongoing situation. My mother had her feelings on the matter and so did I. Unfortunately we were on opposite sides of the fence when it came to my sweet Rylee.
“Yes, I’m aware,”I signed back, providing a green light for my mother to go in.
“Then what are you doing, Somee? Why is she here? For two weeks you’ve had that child. A child that is not yours, and with the way you’re caring for her, I’m not convinced you truly understand she’s not yours.”
“I know she’s not mine but does that mean I can’t be kind to her? She doesn’t have anyone.”
My mother’s eyes rolled and she shook her head before her hands moved vigorously again, jerking through the air.
“She’s not alone.”
Technically, no. The Tylers loved Rylee. They had been supporting her for the past two weeks since Rylee’s mother just up and left her. Although she was at my home, they paid for whatever she needed, which honestly wasn’t much. Rylee was such a sweet girl who kept to herself and sparingly handed out her smiles, although she offered them more and more with each passing day.
I hated that every time she seemed a little lighter, smiled a little more and began to find her footing, I wished her mother stayed gone. Each time I had those thoughts I felt bad for wanting a child to exist without her mother, but the mother she was born to wasn’t the greatest.
